Operation System

The Russian government is no longer comfortable being dependent on the Windows operating system, and has thus decided to create its own flavor of Linux for internal use. 150 million rubles (€3.55 million or nearly $4.89 million) has been put aside for the project. That’s a huge amount of money to invest into something that isn’t certain (what if Russia gives up and goes back to using Windows 7?). “We will become independent of Windows … but it risks becoming an unthinking implantation of Linux [that was probably supposed to be translated as “implementation”],” Russian deputy and computer expert Ilia Ponomarev told the AFP....

The author of this article seems to think Linux in the desktop is dead, with so many missed opportunities, especially during the failure of Windows Vista, they will never break into the market now that Win 7 is so successful. In some ways I agree, but personally, I never thought Linux even had a chance with the average user on a home system. Being in IT, like most peeps in my field, I have become the “help desk” for family and friends; I really do not think the average user is ready for it....